ANTELOPE ISLAND -- What better venue for The Beach Boys to play than on an island?
That's the vision Friends of Antelope Island share in its desire to have the amphitheater on the state-owned island serve as a venue for a summer concert series.
At its monthly meeting Wednesday, Friends of Antelope Island agreed to look into obtaining grant money to start the effort. The volunteer group will revisit the topic at its Feb. 1 meeting.
"They are looking at July, August and September," Antelope Island State Park naturalist Wendy Wilson said of when concerts could be held.
Because of the nature of the island, it would be difficult to do the concerts in May and June, she said.
In the past, musical groups performed in the state park -- using a makeshift stage -- as part of the annual Buffalo Stampede celebration, usually held in early September. Based on the success of those events, the board is looking to expand on such island activities.
Wilson said the park would use the island's amphitheater for the concert series, with the cost of the concert event being included with the $9-per-vehicle park entrance fee charged at the causeway gate.
The amphitheater, just west of the Antelope Island Visitors Center, is generally reserved for nature talks for visiting school groups. It seats up to 100 people, Wilson said.
That seating number does not include the space in the outdoor theater where portable chairs could be placed, Wilson said, to bring the theater capacity up to 300 people.
"(The board) has not researched entertainment yet," she said.
But the group would likely limit the kind of music played on the island to some type of rustic country, Wilson said.
"Nothing like Ozzy (Osbourne). (Music) loud enough so those there can hear (it), but not loud enough so that you can hear it across the (Great Salt) lake," she said.
The idea behind the concerts is to enhance the experience of those who visit the island, Wilson said.
"We thought about different things we could do," she said. "There is already seating for plenty of people, lighting, electricity. A beautiful setting. We are now looking at funding to bring out bands."
Wilson said she doesn't envision the island concerts interfering with any other city concert programs in Davis County because the venues are so different.
"There is so much to do and to see (on the island)," she said.
Davis County community and economic development specialist Neka Roundy, a Friends of Antelope Island board member, said when she has taken her family cross country to visit national parks, she has always made it a point to look for the park ranger programs.
She believes the kind of concert series being considered would fit into Antelope Island's program.
And during the Friends of Antelope Island board meeting, when the possibility of having a concert series was brought up, "no limitations were discussed," said Roundy, who is partial to The Beach Boys.
"I'm always in favor of The Beach Boys," Roundy said.
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